Modi wraps up campaigning in UP, cautions voters to beware of bua, bhateeja

Varanasi:Prime Minister Narendra Modi with BJP President Amit Shah waves at crowd during an election campaign rally in support BJP candidates in Varanasi on Sunday. PTI Photo(PTI3_5_2017_000249A)(PTI)

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VARANASI:

Beware of bua and bhateeja (aunt and nephew), Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday cautioned voters in UP as he accused Samajwadi Party (SP) government of encouraging corruption and discriminating among the people.

Chief minister Akhilesh Yadav refers the BSP chief Mayawati as bua.

Wrapping up his hectic campaign for the seven-phase state assembly polls with a rally on the outskirts of the city, Modi alleged police stations in the state were functioning like the ruling SP’s offices.

“It is time to free Uttar Pradesh from the misrule of the SP, the BSP and the Congress. It is time to think about the welfare of our youths,” he said urging the people to vote for the BJP for the development of the state.

Addressing the gathering at Khushipur in the Rohania assembly constituency of Varanasi, the PM said criminals were running their gangs from jails in Uttar Pradesh.

“Women in UP do not feel safe. They are scared to come out of their homes alone even during the daytime. The law-and-order situation is terrible and the state government is not doing anything to improve it,” he said.

He reiterated the promise of waiving farmers’ loans and restoring professionalism in the police force if a BJP government was installed in the state.

Describing himself as a person who “has experienced poverty and therefore wants to improve the lot of the poor”, the PM said his government was aiming at providing houses to every single household in the country by 2022, when the nation will celebrate 75 years of Independence.

Coming down heavily on the Akhilesh Yadav government, Modi said that in BJP-ruled states 50-60% farmers were covered under the Pradhan Mantri Phasal Beema Yojana but in UP only 14% agriculturists were benefiting from the crop insurance scheme.

He highlighted the soil health card, irrigation, neem-coating of urea and Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana started by his government for farmers.

Lambasting the SP government in the state for “nepotism and corruption” in competitive exams, the Prime Minister said, “I took the decision to do away with interviews for recruitment at lower levels. This was aimed at curbing malpractices. But the state government is not willing to take a cue.”

Asserting his government’s commitment to people’s welfare, he said: “I am fortunate that I was raised on the land where Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Patel were born. Inspired by the ideals of Gandhiji and Sardar Patel, we are working for the welfare of people of this country.”

Modi said his government wanted rural India to be smoke-free. “We want them (villagers) to have access to clean fuel. We have provided 55 lakh LPG connections in UP so far. We aim to provide five crore families with LPG connections in three years.”

Modi also made a special mention of Apna Dal and Bharatiya Samaj Party, which are fighting 20 of the 403 seats in the state in alliance with the BJP.

The Apna Dal enjoys a following among Kurmis, the most dominant OBC group after the Yadavs, while Bharatiya Samaj Party is a breakaway group of the Bahujan Samaj Party floated by Mayawati’s erstwhile loyalist Om Prakash Rajbhar.

Earlier, he began his speech by paying tribute to Lal Bahadur Shastri and said he drew inspiration from the late prime minister’s slogan of ‘Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan’.